CO2 electrochemical catalytic reduction with a highly active cobalt phthalocyanine

  • Nat Commun. 2019 Aug 9;10(1):3602. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-11542-w.
Min Wang  1 ,  Kristian Torbensen  1 ,  Danielle Salvatore  2 ,  Shaoxuan Ren  3 ,  Dorian Joulié  1  3 ,  Fabienne Dumoulin  4 ,  Daniela Mendoza  1  5 ,  Benedikt Lassalle-Kaiser  5 ,  Umit Işci  6 ,  Curtis P Berlinguette  7  8  9 ,  Marc Robert  10
Affiliations
  • 1. Université de Paris, Laboratoire d'Electrochimie Moléculaire, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France.
  • 2. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6Y 1Z3, Canada.
  • 3. Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada.
  • 4. Gebze Technical University, Department of Chemistry, 41400, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey.
  • 5. Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, 91192, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
  • 6. Gebze Technical University, Department of Chemistry, 41400, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey. [email protected].
  • 7. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6Y 1Z3, Canada. [email protected].
  • 8. Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada. [email protected].
  • 9. Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2355 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada. [email protected].
  • 10. Université de Paris, Laboratoire d'Electrochimie Moléculaire, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France. [email protected].
PMID: 31399585 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11542-w
Abstract

Molecular catalysts that combine high product selectivity and high current density for CO2 electrochemical reduction to CO or Other chemical feedstocks are urgently needed. While earth-abundant metal-based molecular electrocatalysts with high selectivity for CO2 to CO conversion are known, they are characterized by current densities that are significantly lower than those obtained with solid-state metal Materials. Here, we report that a cobalt phthalocyanine bearing a trimethyl ammonium group appended to the phthalocyanine macrocycle is capable of reducing CO2 to CO in water with high activity over a broad pH range from 4 to 14. In a flow cell configuration operating in basic conditions, CO production occurs with excellent selectivity (CA. 95%), and good stability with a maximum partial current density of 165 mA cm-2 (at -0.92 V vs. RHE), matching the most active noble metal-based nanocatalysts. These results represent state-of-the-art performance for electrolytic carbon dioxide reduction by a molecular catalyst.

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